Xylomannan is an antifreeze molecule, found in the freeze-tolerant Alaskan beetle Upis ceramboides. [1] Unlike antifreeze proteins, xylomannan is not a protein. Instead, it is a combination of a sugar ( saccharide) and a fatty acid that is found in cell membranes. [2] As such is expected to work in a different manner than AFPs. It is believed to work by incorporating itself directly into the cell membrane and preventing the freezing of water molecules within the cell. [3]
Xylomannan is also found in the red seaweed Nothogenia fastigiata ( Scinaiaceae family). Fraction F6 of a sulphated xylomannan from Nothogenia fastigiata was found to inhibit replication of a variety of viruses, including Herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 (HSV-1, HSV-2), Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV, HHV-5), Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), Influenzavirus A, Influenzavirus B, Junin and Tacaribe virus, Simian immunodeficiency virus, and (weakly) Human immunodeficiency virus types 1 and 2. [4]
References
- ^ Walters KR Jr; Serianni AS; Sformo T; Barnes BM; Duman JG (2009). "A nonprotein thermal hysteresis-producing xylomannan antifreeze in the freeze-tolerant Alaskan beetle Upis ceramboides". PNAS. 106 (48): 20210–5. Bibcode: 2009PNAS..10620210W. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0909872106. PMC 2787118. PMID 19934038.
- ^ Ishiwata A, Sakurai A, Nishimiya Y, Tsuda S, Ito Y (Dec 7, 2011). "Synthetic study and structural analysis of the antifreeze agent xylomannan from Upis ceramboides". J Am Chem Soc. 133 (48): 19524–35. doi: 10.1021/ja208528c. PMID 22029271.
- ^ "New Antifreeze Molecule Isolated In Alaska Beetle - Science News - redOrbit".
- ^ Damonte E, Neyts J, Pujol CA, et al. (June 1994). "Antiviral activity of a sulphated polysaccharide from the red seaweed Nothogenia fastigiata". Biochemical Pharmacology. 47 (12): 2187–92. doi: 10.1016/0006-2952(94)90254-2. PMID 8031312.